I wish to you all a happy Easter. May many bunnies, both plot and chocolate, come knocking on your door.
Chapter Five:
Gil-Galad, high King of the Elves, was a just and fair king, but most of all; he was a dear friend to many. Closest to his heart was Cirdan. Together they had gone on many adventures and Cirdan would follow his Lord into certain death if Gil-Galad only suggested it.
It was not to be this night that such important orders were to be given; tonight was a night of relaxation. The elves knew peace this night, if only for a moment, and two friends knew a bottle of fine wine in front of a giant fireplace.
"Your mind is troubled tonight, My King. Please, share your burden with me. Perhaps it will help."
The King smiled gently at his friend. The firelight added red to his dark hair and deep eyes, "Some troubles cannot be lessened if shared." He sighed and peered once more into the flames so deeply as if they held answers in their dancing light.
"In the old days, long ago, you would tell me." Cirdan pressed. "You are brooding, My Lord, and my instincts tell me it is not over our current campaign that your thoughts lie."
Gil-Galad shook his head, "No, the alliance goes well if not longer than anyone would have guessed. I am pleased also to have some time away from the front lines. Years of fighting are too much for any one elf to bear, even a King."
Silence hung between the two friends for several minutes. Cirdan was afraid to push his friend into speaking and Gil-Galad was summoning the will to say what was on his mind.
Finally, words broke the air, "I have made a mistake, Cirdan. One even I am not sure how to make amends for."
"Tell me, perhaps together we can find a way of overcoming it."
The King laughed quietly, "There is no overcoming this I must find a way to accept it. It must be accepted as reality."
Kneeling in front of his King, Cirdan took his dear friend's hand and whispered to him, "Tell me and get this off your chest."
"I met a woman. A very beautiful woman and I fell in love with her."
Confusion came over Cirdan's face, "Is that what you are so upset about? My Lord, this should be good news. The people have waited for you to find one with whom you could be happy."
Gil-Galad shook his head, "You do not understand. We are in the middle of a great conflict, a struggle unlike any other recorded in the history of the world. For many years has it gone on with no end in sight and she has told me," his voice broke off. Swallowing he continued, "She has told me that she is with child."
"What?" Cirdan questioned.
"She is pregnant and will give birth within a few short months. This child is mine, Cirdan, and this heir to my throne shall be born out of wedlock." He lowered his voice, "A bastard. The people will never accept the child and if it's male, they would never believe that this is their prince and one to whom they should bow."
The full implications of what his friend had said sunk slowly into Cirdan's mind. A child of an unknown she-elf and an infatuated king, not exactly the pure royal line of tradition, even riskier with the chances of the King being slain as high as they were in these troubled times.
"What will you do?"
"I do not know." Gil-Galad replied, "Above all, this is a child. A new person with its own life to live. It should not have to pay for my mistakes. If I bring it forward what will happen to it?" The King pondered more, "But we are at war and should I fall the line would be broken if this child were to remain in the shadows."
"Tell me her name so I might carry the secret should something ill befall you. This knowledge should not die with you if the unthinkable should happen."
~End Flashback~
"That's when your father told me, Erestor." Cirdan spoke, "He told me about your mother and where she lived. It was only a short time later that your father, the High King, fell in battle.
Erestor nodded numbly, all elves knew of Gil-Galad, his greatness and the supreme loss felt by all when he died. Sorrow stirred in the Advisor's soul, his coming had brought forth such agony and despair in his father's heart. He knew now for sure that he was an accident and an unwanted one at that. The pain of this spiked through his heart and into his soul.
"Do not be upset, young one. It was after we had returned to the battlefield that a messenger came from a distant, remote land bearing news to the King. I did not know what contents the message held until I held my dearest friend after he had received a fatal blow. It was then that he told me of your birth." Cirdan couldn't help but smile. "He told me with his last breaths that a son had been born and given the beautiful and regal name Erestor. He asked me to watch over you. After all his apprehension he was proud to have a son to carry on. "
The elder elf reached into his pocket, "He gave me this and bid me to give it to you when you were ready." He extended his hand and opened it revealing a beautiful ring in his hand.
"This is Narya, the great ring of Fire. Given to Gil-Galad who gave it to me and I, in turn, gave to Gandalf. I give it back to you for you have the blood of kings running in your veins. It is rightfully yours."
Cirdan opened Erestor's hand, placed the ring in his grasp and shut his fingers around it.
"This is your charge, your responsibility. For too long have you been denied and hidden from your birthright, now you must take it with both hands open."
The beauty of the ring called out to Erestor. It almost seemed as if a piece of him was slowly being returned.
But the largest question haunting the dark elf had yet to be answered.
"Tell me what happened to my mother." Erestor asked.
Cirdan lowered his gaze, "I will tell you, My Lord." Erestor blinked, he had lived his whole life serving lords, never once did he desire to be named a lord himself. It reminded him of the complete uncertainty of his future now that the facts were coming to light.
~Begin Flashback~
Cirdan tried to ride with confidence into the secluded village. Here the she-elf with her young child lived in a small house on the edge of town. Cirdan had assumed the reins of leadership not too long ago; he wanted to ignore this situation, yet the pull to bring him here was very strong indeed. He had to speak with this woman, had to know her intentions for herself and her small child. The child, Erestor, would be quite tiny yet, just beginning to express himself, and he doubted she would want to bring him into the great halls now, but what of the future. Even the most powerful could not slow time or put a halt to the child's growing up. What would happen once this youngling reached majority?
Coming upon the place that Gil-Galad has described in his nightlong confession, Cirdan dismounted and pulled his cloak up tighter. He worked hard to keep his face hidden from any and all prying eyes. The last thing he needed in this tender moment was for some elf to wonder why their new Lord would come to the house of a quiet elf woman. Cirdan knew by instinct that the dead King had kept his coming here secret.
He walked slowly to the door and knocked; waiting to come face to face with the only other who knew the bloodline in the child that lived here.
Someone did open the door and to his surprise it was someone he recognized. A servant who was trusted by Gil-Galad, the King must have sent her here because she was trustworthy and would care for his child.
"I was wondering when I would see your face, Lord Cirdan." She spoke with confidence. "You have come to see the child?"
"Yes." He confirmed, "I would first like to speak with his mother."
"Follow me." She led him into the house and to a confrontation that would change the future of one and the fate of another.